Arlene Ponteen Wins Montserrat Festival 50 House Raffle

Thursday, January 3, 2013

FESTIVAL CITY, Montserrat - Arlene Ponteen of Barzey's Montserrat is now a homeowner after winning the Festival 50 House Raffle which was drawn on December 26, 2012.

The drawing which took place live on ZJB Radio Montserrat from the home in Lookout was the culmination of a two-year promotion which saw entries from the UK, USA, and Canada and the Caribbean.

Arleen Ponteen (centre) speaks to Sharlene Lindsay of On the Road to Festival 50 and Hon. Jermaine Wade after finding out she won a new two-bedroom home in Lookout, Montserrat

 

Ponteen, who works in the Ministry of Health, said she had never won anything and so had reluctantly purchased the ticket in December of 2011. She now owns the two-bedroom house valued at EC$ 160,000 overlooking the stunning Margarita Bay in the North of the island.

Consolation prizes were won by Corine Beven of Baker Hill, Elfrida Greer of Manjack and Stafford Roberts of Davy Hill. All prizes was handed out, including the keys to the home during the closing of Montserrat's celebration of 50 years of festival on January 1, 2013.

Honourable Parliamentary Secretary Jermaine Wade thanked all who purchased the raffle tickets, the sales people and the radio stations on Antigua, St. Kitts & Nevis who partnered to promote the event.

The new owner is free to live in it, sell or lease it without any restrictions.

For more information on Festival 50 visit montserratfestival.com or follow on Twitter @MNIFestival.

 

Copyright 2013 Caribbean Emagazine All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without credit..

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Herman 'Cupid' Francis Wins Calypso Monarch Title for Montserrat's Festival 50

Monday, December 31, 2012

FESTIVAL CITY, Montserrat (December 31, 2012) -  Herman 'Cupid' Francis added a fourth calypso monarch crown to his credit after delivering two incredible performances at the 50th cultural festival celebrations Calypso Finals on Montserrat last night.

 

Cupid, who also serves as the Head of the Department of Culture and one of the island's leading song writers and music instructors also nabbed four of the eight special prizes along with the EC$15,000 cash prize for the winner.

In the first round, Cupid performed Shortly After Takeoff, a heart rending reflection of the deadly plane crash which occurred on Antigua this year and took the lives of the five people on board who were heading to Montserrat. His props depicted the events of that fateful day and added a sober reminder of the frailty of life to the very upbeat competition. Performing last in the second round, the calypsonian delivered We Outsourcing, a hilarious look at the Government of Montserrat's efforts to outsource some services.



 AJ Cassell 

Winning the Crowd Favourite and Best Newcomer prizes after delivering noteworthy performances from the calypso eliminations on December 8 to last night, was AJ Cassell, the son of the Late Soca King Arrow, who won the calypso monarch crown three times before switching to soca. AJ ended the finals as the first runner up for his renditions of Voice of this Generation and Pedigree.

James "Cruzer" Brown won the Cathron Products-sponsored Most Humorous Calypso and $500 for "Family Tree”. Cupid won Best Social Commentary for We Outsourcing and Most Creative Calypso for Shortly After Takeoff. He added the Best Writer Award, which was sponsored by LHNet and the John Bassy Award named for the late Chief Minister John Osborne and presented by his daughter Shirley Osborne with a $500 cash prize for best political commentary.

The Most Improved Calypsonian award went to Jester 'Ice Man' Weekes who ended the competition as the fifth runner up.

Final rankings are: 11th Barry "Barry J" Jarvis , 10th Davon "Rakatang" Williams, 9th Kevin "King Natty" Farrell , 8th Kelvin "Tabu" Duberry, 7th Roland "King Kenzie" Johnson, 6th Garnett "Sylk" Thompson, 5th Jester "Ice Man" Weekes, 4th Silvina "Khandie" Malone, 3rd Anderson "King Andy" Kirnon, 2nd John "Warda" Murrain, 1st AJ "AJ" Cassell, Winner Herman "Cupid" Francis

































Copyright 2012 Caribbean Emagazine All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without credit..

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Chrystal Cummins-Beckles of Barbados wins Euphony Vibes Regional Female Calypso title.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012



Chrystal Cummins-Beckles 

Chrystal Cummins-Beckles of Barbados reigned supreme over a group of talented female calypsonians to take the 2nd Euphony Vibes Regional Female Calypso title.

 

The competition was one of the major events on Montserrat's Festival 50 calendar which runs until January 1, 2013.

 

Cummins-Beckles performed sixth in each round singing two songs she wrote and arranged herself. In the first round she powerfully delivered Fly on the Wall and in the second,Forgive de Caribbean.

 

The winner told the Backstage Live Stream host Sharlene Lindsay she was very confident that she'd brought her all to the stage and that each of the women competing had done the same, making it very hard to know who the judges would choose.

 

Cummins-Beckles was visible shocked when her name was called ahead of Montserrat's former female calypso monarch Silvina "Khandie" Malone who was first runner-up and Shereena "Shea Shea" Richardson of Anguilla who was third.

Shereena "Shea Shea" Richardson of Anguilla

 

 

The other performers were last year's champ Minelle of St. Lucia, Singing Althea of Antigua & Barbuda, and Shaunelle McKenzie of St. Vincent & Grenadines.

 

The winner takes home EC$ 8000 in cash and a round trip to London. The runner-up received EC$ 5000 and two-nights at the West End Hotel Suites in Anguilla.

 

For more information on Festival 50 visit montserratfestival.com or follow on Twitter @MNIFestival.

 

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Euphony Vibes to host second Regional Female Calypso Monarch Competition in Montserrat

Monday, November 26, 2012

Euphony Vibes will host the second Regional Female Calypso Monarch Competition on Friday, 21st December in Montserrat. The show is being held as part of the 50th Festival celebrations on the island.  

Participating will be Minelle from St. Lucia who won the crown last year. Others vying for the 2012 Kaiso crown include: Singing Althea from Antigua; Shea Shea from Anguilla; Chrystal Cummins-Beckles from Barbados; Shaunelle McKenzie from St Vincent; Joycelyn Searles aka Sista Joyce from BVI; Tasha P from Dominica (first runner up last year) and Sylvina 'Kandie' Malone from Montserrat.     

Euphony Vibes event organiser Earl Sullivan is pleased that there will be representatives from eight Caribbean islands and goes on to say: "we think Kaiso fans will be thrilled about this event as within the grouping of participants who have taken up the challenge to take part, there is a vast array of talent with many of the ladies having won similar competitions in their country."

First place will be awarded EC $8,000; Second place EC $5,000; Third place EC $3,000 and all others get EC $500.00.  

 

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Countdown to Montserrat's 50th Annual Festival: December 15th 2012 - January 1st 2013

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The countdown to Montserrat's 50th annual festival goes into overdrive on Friday, October 26th, FIFTY days before celebrations kick off on Saturday, December 15th. An exciting range of events and shows are planned to mark this historical and festive time in Montserrat's history.

 

Cornerstone events organised by the festival committee include: Night of Pan featuring both junior and senior orchestras from across the island, the Festival Queen Pageant which will pay tribute to the 5 decades of pageantry, the Calypso Monarch Competition on December 30, a lively Festival Day Show and the colourful Street Parade with more than 20 different mas bands.

 

A number of private shows will also add to the excitement of the festival including the: Soca Monarch Competition, 2nd Annual Regional Female Calypso Competition, and Soca Frenzy Show which will feature 10 different soca artistes from across the Caribbean region. In total there are 70 plus events on the festival calendar with daytime activities for children and families and numerous shows for those looking to revel into the night!

 

Montserrat nationals living abroad as well as other festival goers are expected to double if not triple the island's 5,000 population and the festival committee along with Montserrat Tourism Board is looking forward to extending a warm welcome to everyone taking part in the 50th Festival celebrations.

 

Chairman of the festival committee Johnny Wyke says: "There is no better way for Montserratians and friends of Montserrat to celebrate Montserrat's 50th annual festival than to visit the island known to many as the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean. Making the journey will allow individuals to reconnect with family and friends as well as experience again the culture and history of the island as it works to rebuild from the volcanic eruption that happened some 17 years ago."

 

As part of celebration, The Montserrat Tourist Board will raffle off a two-bedroom house with oceanic view located in the Lookout Village of Montserrat. Valued at 160,000 Eastern Caribbean Dollars, the individual or organisation who wins the raffle will become the owner of the house, mortgage free.

 

 

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